A Trip To Grandma's
A Horsey Oasis In The Big Bottom Valley
On the western side of the state of Washington is a big fertile valley that the Cowlitz River runs through. The big river meanders its way through the valley floor, flanked on each side by steep, tree covered peaks. A large chunk of my family hails from this largely undeveloped drainage, and my Grandma still makes her home in "The Valley."
Last June we took the kids over to stay a few days with Grandma. We played a lot of board games, I did a bunch of work on Gram's computers, we ran up to Mt. St. Helens, and had an overall great time hanging with Grandma. Her place holds magical memories for me, as I imagine, a lot of grandparent's homes do for people.
Now, I could wax poetic about the whole visit, but this post is about horses. Grandma and Grandpa ran about 100 head of cows when I was young, and they also raised Appaloosa horses and mules. You could often find me smack in the middle of the equine herd, hand outstretched, and surrounded by the beasts. My uncle rode bulls and saddle broncs, my mom showed in 4H, and I really identified with the mules. I think it was our manes; they were very similar in overall style.
These days there are less horses on the farm, but they still roam the same fields, and I took my kids down for the age-old ritual of horse-human interaction. An added bit of interest is all of the elk that now mingle with the horses. When I was young, you had to take a drive up into the high country to see the elk. Now they are all hanging out down in the valley floor. A living example of how things change.
Nothing brings a smile to your face likes seeing your children enjoy experiences that you once enjoyed at their age. Watching my two enjoy dishing out nose pets and scratches to all of my Uncle's stock was one of the greatest things ever!
And as always, all of the images in this post were taken on the author's horse hair covered iPhone
Thanks for sharing, this was a great post on 'going back'. I can imagine your children following in your footsteps at a place of such importance would be very fun to see, and a bit emotional. Those times remembered tied to place and the all-important people that make it so, are so very powerful. Glad your children get to know their Great Grandmother well, somewhat unusual and very important.
Love the fact you had a mules' mane when young. I can see the ad now in FarmHorse Quarterly... "The all new, 'Mules Mane' conditioner, by Donnatello Hair Products LTD. "Easy to care for, like a hard-working Semi-Equine"." (You know me, seriousness is only a quick-passing emotion...)
LOL! I was mostly equine until I was about 12 or so, how did you know?
I am so dreadfully sorry that it took me a bit to respond, there has been so much going on here! 4H pig pickup, dirt bike shenanigans, more work than I can effectively fathom on an empty stomach. Things. It was great sharing the magic of Grandma's with the offspring, and your comment made me think of something. When I was young I was able to spend lots of time with not only my four great-grandma's but two of my great, great-grandmas as well. I'm truly happy to have been able to experience that! Even if my one great, great grandma was over 6 feet tall and had a snuff pot! Heh.
Hopefully your weekend was either blissful, productive, or even both!
Howdy. No problem on the slow reply. Haven't been on here that much myself, been making a gazebo roof for my neighbors. But sounds like you're busier than those army guys on the TV. Don't know how you do it all, and still manage to write all this classic stuff for this site on top of it all. Good on ya...
What is a 4H Pig Pickup? My first thought was four on four pickup game on the driveway with Wilbur, Babe Snowball and Annie Sue, since no one else wants to play today? But putting on an adult fedora and spending more than 2 seconds on that thought, maybe either getting a pig to raise for the next round at the fair, or picking one up after, but, even thought I'm sort of citified, pretty sure all fairs are in July/August.
That is so cool you knew your GG Grandmother, that is unusual. I met my Great Gmother when very small, but don't remember too much of her. Know she gave me one of those toy monkeys that clang cymbals together when you squeeze a little air bulb. Must have been something from when she was much younger. Odd memory from a GG, which is what we called her. Sounds like your GG Grandmother was a classic, and way ahead of her time. None of my grannies ever had a snuff pot!! Well, have a nice day.